


Getting To Know You

by MulticoloredRose



Series: Do Not Go Gently [2]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, M/M, Mass Effect 3: Citadel, One-Sided Attraction, Other characters mentioned - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 11:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16952952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MulticoloredRose/pseuds/MulticoloredRose
Summary: The Normandy has been brought to port for ship upgrades and repairs, giving a perfect window of opportunity to observe Shepard and his team.





	Getting To Know You

**Author's Note:**

> Here's part two!  
> Just a little expansion and messing with canon timelines and events.  
> The biggest change here is not just how much time is passing, but also the 'visits' that you can do after the party are going to happen throughout the week and will be shown in the next chapters.

Anderson’s apartment is nice. No, it’s more than nice, it’s _magnificent_. It’s the kind of apartment that the Savior of the Citadel deserves to have. ‘Shepard’ walks through the main area, running his hands along the marble countertops and taking in the whole picture. The Original hasn’t moved in yet, having just recently been given the deed to this place over QEC transfer and it shows. The closets are still empty and the cabinets are still bare.

He steps into the kitchen and lets himself lean against the counter. He’s never had a kitchen before. Hell, he’s never even eaten anything that hasn’t been some form of synthesized protein packets designed to help stabilize him and push him to where he needs to be and sustain the amount of energy he puts out. He slides his fingers over the burners and he wonders what he’ll cook when he has the chance to get around to it. Something simple probably, it’ll take a while to actually _learn_ the skillset now that Rasa isn’t pouring information into his brain.

He turns around and walks up the stairs, going to the balcony and looking over. He think’s he’ll enjoy it here. It certainly feels like it suits him. The grand elegance, the showy display of superiority through excess. It’s clear that this was always meant to be his. He knew it the moment he walked in here. The Original wouldn’t know what to do with a place like this. He didn’t deserve it, just like everything else that was handed to him in this mockery of a life.

He’s going to fix that though. If the universe and fate seem so intent on just handing Aidan Shepard things, like the Spectre status or the Normandy or this location then it could very well be just as fine handing them over to him.

After all, who was he but another Aidan Shepard? Soon to be the only one.

He pushes away from the balcony and looks around the upper floor. Taking a moment to run his fingers over the books and pick up a few of the data pads that have been just laid out for him – or the _other_ him – to see. The voice of Admiral Anderson comes over them, pouring his soul and his obvious care for the other Shepard out for the world to hear.

This wasn’t a spur of the moment gift. This was something thought out, planned and executed. Anderson always meant to hand this over to Shepard. He was never going to retire here with that instructor once the war was over.

He wonders if Shepard knows that too, or if he’s lying to himself.

The shower is basically connected to a pool and he’s never actually seen a tub like this before. It looks like something he’ll be trying out instantly the moment that he can actually take his time and relax in here without worrying about leaving a trace for the other Aidan Shepard to recognize.

The bed is a temptation that’s almost too much to resist, but he refrains. He can’t risk the potential evidence. Even just the smallest thing out of place might tip off the other man to the storm coming his way, and they can’t afford that.

There’s a beep on his omni-tool seconds before he hears the knock at the front door and he doesn’t need to look at the message that he’s just gotten to know that it’s Rasa at the door. He secretly wishes that he’d had a little more time to himself, but he steps out of the room and walks over to the balcony, triggering the door to open for the brunette. Rasa walks in wearing some kind of casual outfit that he doesn’t doubt would make her invisible to the average joe.

“Nice.” She says as she steps in and glances around the area. “Very nice.” She turns towards the balcony and looks up at him. “Have you put up the cameras?”

“Not yet.” He replies, reaching into his pockets for the small lenses.

“And why not?”

“I just wanted to be sure that the AI wouldn’t be able to sense them.” He says, the lie falling off his tongue much easier than he would have thought. Rasa doesn’t seem to notice the mistruth though, and he’s grateful for it.

“Even EDI has it’s limits.” Rasa says to him with a wave of her hand like she’s brushing off his question and concern as unimportant. “And who knows it’s limits better than Cerberus?” She walks over to the kitchen and he hears her let out an impressed whistle even though he can’t see her anymore. “I will admit, Anderson has style.”

“Is everything in place?” He asks her, feeling a strange urge to vacate the premises as soon as possible now that Rasa is here. He doesn’t know why, Rasa’s been in every space he’s ever had…but this feels different. He wants this to be _his_ , not hers, and as such he wants them out of there as soon as possible.

“Just a few more pieces of information to go and then we’ll be ready to take what’s rightfully yours.” She steps back into view and motions to the apartment with one arm. “This is just the beginning. Soon, Spectre Shepard, this will all be finished.” She grins at him. “We’ll have everything in our grasp. The authority, the Normandy, _everything_. Everything that is his will be yours.”

“Should have always been mine.” He reminds her and she nods.

“And we’ll rectify that.” She says as she reaches into the bag on her side pulling out some more of the mini lenses. “Now, let’s get this place rigged up. There will be plenty of time to _enjoy_ it later.” She says with a promising smirk and she disappears from his view again, no doubt starting to place the cameras in the best vantage points.

To be honest, it’ll be interesting to actually spy on the man. To see him in his most unguarded moments instead of only being fed vids and news reports that kiss the Spectre’s ass like they were created to do it.

“How long will the Normandy be in the bay?” He asks Rasa over the rail, toying with a tiny lens in-between his fingers.

“Current estimates put it at just under a week.” She calls out from somewhere down below. “Which means we have a small window to work with while the Commander and his crew are grounded.” She comes back into view. “Which means you’ll have just under a week of uninterrupted access to Shepard too. To study his behaviors, his mannerisms, his habits, his interactions – everything.”

“Cerberus had plenty of files on him.” He reminds her. “Why not just take him out now? I think it’s safe to say I’ve got the gist.”

“Personality psych files are nothing compared to the ability to study the subject without them knowing. You’ll need to be able to pass for Shepard in any situation at the drop of a pin.”

“I _am_ Shepard.” He retorts and she waves him off again.

“I know, I know; but you know what I mean. There are too many external forces that you’re going to have to tiptoe around carefully in the early days. Managing to pull off a perfect Shepard impersonation is vital to our plans.” She looks up at him. “Trust me, don’t I always know what’s best?” She asks and he nods without pause just like he knows she’s expecting him to. “Good, hurry up and put up the cameras. We should get out of here soon. I don’t want to risk getting caught any more than we already have.” He nods at her command and turns to go set up the cameras.

~+~

“Again.” Rasa commands, clapping her hands as Shepard rolls his shoulders and tries to catch his breath as the next group of mercenaries’ step into the ring. His muscles are burning and he feels like he’s fighting to just stay on his feet as they move in.

He needs this though. Like Rasa says, if he can’t stand his own against baseline humans, then how is he supposed to step in and take on the Original or the Reapers? She pushes him like this because he needs to be the best. Anything less is a failure and he’s done being the unwanted scraps tossed away to the dogs like trash. The Illusive Man should have realized what he had when he still had the opportunity to control him, now Shepard would make him regret getting pulled himself into this ‘Cult of Shepard’.

A fist slams into his jaw, and he twists with it, grabbing the man’s arm and snapping the bone. The mercenary howls in pain before Shepard gets his arm around his neck and with a quick twist, the man falls over dead.

Rasa is right. This is exactly what he needs. He needs to be strong, to be more than just a man.

He needs to be a _legend_.

He’s spitting blood by the end of it and he looks up at her only to see her unimpressed face. She claps her hands and another three men move forward. “Again.” She demands and they attack.

He’s limping by the time he’s done in there, and the machines are cleaning up the dead bodies and dragging them down to the incinerator. He bites back a hiss of pain as he tugs out a packet of medi-gel and starts to slather it on the worst of it. He doesn’t respond when he hears the door to his room compress and open, but he figures he doesn’t need to. Only Rasa has the combination to the door and he’s not surprised when she comes around the bed to stand in front of him.

“You’re getting better, but you’re not there yet.” She tells him and he just cocks his head at her.

“You think I don’t know that?” He asks as neutrally as he can least the comment be taken as talking back and she gives him a look like she thinks he doesn’t. That look always bothers him on some deep level, but like usual he pushes it down. If it weren’t for Rasa, he’d be spare parts still. Worse, if it weren’t for Rasa he’d be _forgotten_. Left in a tube to rot.

“I just want to make sure that your head is in the game.” She states as she comes over and pushes her fingers into a still healing cut. Even with the medi-gel knitting the skin together, the pain shoots through him but he stares at her stoically. He won’t show weakness, like he knows she’s looking for.

“Satisfied?” He asks with a bored tone and she smirks.

“Not yet.” She says, tugging the medi-gel packets out of his hands and pushing him down on the bed before crawling on top of him. “But we’ve got a few minutes to spare.”

He cleans himself up afterwards when she leaves with a grin and a wave over her shoulder and he pulls up some of the psych profiles of the Original. Kelly Chambers was handpicked by The Illusive Man for the Collectors mission for her empathic personality and stance on alien life. She was the first crew member chosen to distract Shepard from Cerberus’s true nature long before the Illusive Man was able to get his hands on that lame pilot.

She’s on the run now, as are all the others on the Normandy now. Having been pulled into the Cult of Shepard like the rest of them and abandoning their duty to Cerberus and mankind.

He hasn’t had a chance to go over her psych evals from the Collectors incident, but he figures that he can waste some time since Shepard has yet to return to the apartment from earlier that day.

He finds himself flipping through her initial reports as they picked up the various aliens that the Illusive Man had tagged for that mission and he jumps ahead to Horizon. He’s a little surprised to see that Chambers was concerned in the days immediately following Horizon’s impromptu meeting with the then Commander Alenko. According to her reports, Commander Shepard was slightly distant to all of the team other than Moreau, Vakarian or Chakwas, wherein the four of them seemed to be reliving or stuck in the past or the ‘good old days’ aboard the first Normandy.

Chambers was worried that some kind of emotional vulnerability was present that hadn’t been properly closed off or dealt with as Shepard went around helping all the others finish up their last requests and personal missions before they all signed on to the ‘Suicide Mission’.

According to EDI’s additions to the file when Chambers was no longer present on the ship to fill them out, Shepard had opted to prepare for the mission by himself up in the Captain’s Quarters. EDI had assured the Illusive Man that Shepard had shown significant improvement after receiving an email from Commander Alenko during that time.

_Shepard,_

_I’m sorry for what I said back on Horizon. I spent two years pulling myself back together after you went down with the Normandy. It took me a long time to get over my guilt for surviving and move on. I thought I was finally starting to move past it and then I saw you._

_And everything pulled hard to port. You were standing in front of me, but you were with Cerberus._

_I guess I don’t really know who either of us is anymore, but a lot has changed in the last two years and I can’t just put that aside._

_But please be careful. I’ve watched too many people close to me die – on Eden Prime, on Virmire, on Horizon, on the Normandy. I couldn’t bear it if I lose you again._

_If you’re still the man I remember I know you’ll find a way to stop these Collector attacks. But Cerberus is too dangerous to be trusted. Watch yourself._

_When things settle down a little…maybe…I don’t know. Just take care._

_\--Kaidan_

It doesn’t take long for the Original to return to the apartment, and Shepard figures that he’s not surprised that it takes him less than ten minutes to move in. He doesn’t have a lot of personal items to bring with him, obviously only having what he has surplus of in his Captain’s Quarters.

That’s for the best, he’d hate to have to clean out the apartment only to have to refill it again.

There isn’t much time between the Original returning to the apartment before the doorbell rings and he heads over to it, greeting some of his ‘inner circle’ as they all start to arrive. Shepard notices that something seems to be up though with the group entering the apartment because they seem to be intent on distracting the Original, making him look one way while someone grabs something from the other side of the front door and rushes by with it, trying to hide it amongst the other rooms.

They look like small gift packages and he wonders what’s going on as the turian – Garrus Vakarian, starts poking at the Original about something or another that has the two of them laughing before the bell rings again and the final member joins the little get together.

There’s a strange feeling that hits him when he sees Kaidan Alenko step into the apartment. It’s the first image of Kaidan that isn’t a pre-existing recording and his mind can’t help but remember a line of Kaidan’s email to the Original: _I saw you, and everything pulled hard to port._

The brunet biotic has a kind of sheepish smile on his face as he holds up a small present in his hand, offering it to the Original who has come over to greet him.

“Sorry I’m late, Council meeting went over.’ Kaidan says as the Original accepts the present.

“What’s this?” The Original asks, sounding confused and Kaidan’s face shifts to show his own confusion at the question.

“Housewarming gift.” He says carefully.

“Housewarming gift?” The Original inquires as the entire group in the apartment behind him start waving their hands like loons and making ‘abort’ motions towards the biotic Spectre.

“Oh…yeah…um…it was just a thought…that I had. You know…” Kaidan stumbles over an excuse.

“Kaidan.” The Original says with a fond smile and Kaidan cringes.

“…can you pretend you didn’t see this?” He asks and the Original nods.

“Good job spoiling the surprise Blue.” James Vega snorts with good natured humor in his voice and Kaidan looks even more sheepish somehow.

“And we were doing so well.” T’Soni states sadly and the Original holds up the gift.

“I can pretend like I don’t know about it if you want.” He says, and they’re saved from responding to that as the door beeps and the two Spectre’s move to the side while the others deal with the delivery volus.

“You totally knew.” Kaidan says to the other as the rest are distracted and the Original’s grin is almost playful.

“You can go hide this in the guest room with the rest of them if you want.” He says and Kaidan lets out a soft snort at the response.

“Well, regardless of that. This is a nice place.” Kaidan says, glancing around the area for the first time and the Original nods.

“Yeah, still having a hard time believing it’s mine now.” He replies, going over to the fridge and pulling out two beers, handing one to the other Spectre. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” Kaidan replies as they tap their bottles together before they rejoin the others at the couches and table.

Shepard observes them as they all gather around the food, telling embarrassing stories of their day – jumping in to add commentary on each other’s stories – before Tali’Zorah vas Normandy and Liara T’Soni head out to grab the presents and bring them back in.

The gifts are pretty simple in nature, revealing more about the gift giver than the intended recipient.

Traynor gives some kind of electronic game set. The toaster from Vakarian is actually a false toaster and hides a gun. No one sees what the present is from Subject Zero or ‘Jack’ because the Original immediately closes the box the second he opens it and the woman bursts into delighted peals of laughter at his response.

Kaidan leans over with a curious look on his face and asks what it was and the Original whispers something into his ear that makes him choke on the sip he’d just taken of his drink, sputtering and coughing for a second and Jack falls off the couch in her amusement and cackling.

It’s odd how everyone seems to understand what’s in the box if the looks they send each other are any indication and he wishes that he had a better vantage point to be able to see whatever was in there. After all, he might need to know when he takes over for the other him.

The high point of the night, or at least the point when they get the most rowdy, is when Traynor sets up the game system to let them play ‘Planetary Risk’ and the whole affair devolves into shouting matches and alliances and betrayals and arm wrestling, and no one is surprised in the least when EDI conquers the galaxy in her first game.

The others leave one by one, with Kaidan being the last in the apartment once the ‘housewarming party’ is over.

“So what did the Council want to talk about?” The Original asks and Kaidan sighs.

“Udina.’ He replies. “I finally had to give my report about it.”

“Seriously? They still had you file a verbal report? What for? They were there.” The Original says with a frown. “What could they possibly hope to get from you that was different than what they already knew?”

“They wanted to know how the entire day went down.” Kaidan says. “Before I got to them. They were curious if there were any signs of anything odd before Udina turned.”

“Were there?”

“None that I recall. I mean, Udina was always a pushy bastard who was never really silent about how much he didn’t like the Council. Even when Anderson stepped down and he finally got on it. I didn’t really think anything of it when he didn’t want to go searching for the other Council members.”

“Yeah, it would have been suspicious if he’d _wanted_ you to go find them.” The Original agrees and Kaidan nods.

“Yeah, but I mean, I guess at the same time he didn’t need to put on that front. He had to know that I would go after them regardless, which just fell right into his plan.”

“I guess he figured either you found them and he handed them over to Cerberus himself, or Leng found them and dealt with it out of sight.” The Original says. “But I’m glad I got there in time.”

“Me too. That would have been a hell of a way that my first Council protection detail as a Spectre would have played out if Cerberus had kidnapped us all.” Kaidan replies with a shiver. “I don’t want to know what the Illusive Man had planned for all of us, not when I’ve seen his most recent endeavors.”

“Agreed.” The Original says and Kaidan shrugs and changes the subject back to the meeting and off the Illusive Man.

“They’re not condemning me for pulling the trigger…just the opposite in fact. They said that I showed exemplary skill during the coup and that they were pleased about my inclusion to the Spectres.” Kaidan shakes his head. “I don’t know though…I mean, I guess I still wish that I’d have been able to take him alive.”

“He had a gun pointed at an unarmed woman and you had a split second to respond.” The Original says firmly and Kaidan gives him a smile.

“I know, I know. Like I said though, sometimes it’s how a thing goes down that makes you really think about it later…I guess I don’t like feeling like my reflexes took away the chance for a different outcome.”

“Hey, look at me.” The Original says as he comes over to Kaidan. “Udina was dirty and he was going to kill us all. Your reflexes saved the asari councilor, hell it saved us all. If those phantoms and Leng had gotten out there, you can be damn well sure that we’d have had a few casualties. You saved the Council and you took out a traitor.”

“Thanks, Shep.” Kaidan says with the softest of smiles as he leans over and gives the Original a small kiss – and the glass of water in his hand’s shatters with the sudden grip that he has on it as he watches them. There’s a haze of red that goes across his vision for a moment as the liquid drips over the new cuts in his skin as he stares at the vid screen.

_No._

That’s the only thought going through his mind past the rage as he forces himself to get up for a few minutes to clean out the glass shards and slather some medi-gel on his hand.

He guesses that some part of him isn’t surprised. The signs were there. The vids and the way that Alenko talked about Shepard and the damn email…the signs were there, and while he understands that this is something that he should have been expecting, he’s strangely unhappy to see it for some reason.

Secretly he’d hoped that Kaidan and the Original hadn’t fully moved past the events on Horizon or Mars. Sure, the biotic Spectre was onboard the Normandy again, but surely those kinds of betrayals should have kept them apart for some time. How could Kaidan just _forgive_ those kinds of transgressions?

He steps back over to the vid screen once he’s managed to temper the rage and he watches the two of them moving about the apartment again. He’s past the initial reaction and he’ll figure this out too. Just like he’ll figure everything else out. This hasn’t put anything out of reach, just the opposite in fact.

“It’s a really big place.” The Original’s voice draws his attention back to the vid screen.

“Yeah, it’s nice. Definitely a step up.” Kaidan replies and the Original looks slightly unsure about something.

“…I was thinking…I know how you were talking about how your place doesn’t really have the space for your office so you’re always having to lug around all those tablets…and I was thinking how this place definitely has too many bedrooms just for me….and so…yeah.” He trails off for a second, looking at the brunet and Kaidan looks like he’s fighting back a smile. “It would be lonely, I mean it’s big and if it were just me it could wear out its charm pretty quickly…And I was thinking that you might like not having to commute. You could use that one, or hell you could take the actual office if you wanted and I could turn the other room into my office, we both know you’re much more on top of all of that than I am so if you want the already fixed office you wouldn’t have to go far.”

“Shep…I can’t fully determine if you’re asking me to move in in a strange, round about sort of way or if you’re just asking me to do my work here.” Kaidan says after the other pauses for too long and the Original just chuckles.

“Then I’m doing a shit job of asking aren’t I?” He asks before he looks at Kaidan. “…I’d like it…if you want to.” He motions to the apartment. “Move in with me. Life’s short, and there are no more regs that we’re in trouble of breaking so we don’t need to be secretive about this.”

“Hmm…That sounds like an excellent idea Commander.” Kaidan says as he approaches the other man and the Original smiles.

“I’m glad you think so Major.” He says as Kaidan tugs him to him gently.

“So, I’m thinking that we have a long day tomorrow, and that it’ll save time if we both hit the shower right now and call it a night.”

“I like the way you think.” The Original says as they both head to the bathroom and he silently curses himself for not having the foresight to place any cameras in there. It hadn’t seemed like a viable place to put them before, but now it seems like one of the most important places he could have ever possibly placed them.

He’ll have to see if Rasa can score some more lenses and figure out how to sneak back in. For study of course. He figures that she’ll agree that blind spots aren’t really good for studying a person’s habits.

He tries not to be cross, but it’s a hard thing to do when he sees them eventually exit the bathroom a while later, already dressed in their night clothes and how they fall into bed together, curled up next to each other.

He closes down the vid feed a little while later and crawls into his own cot wondering what it would feel like to fall asleep next to another person and not have to worry about a knife in the back for letting down his guard.

He falls asleep knowing that it won’t be long now, and then he can find out for himself.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please drop me a comment!


End file.
